Observations for This Week’s Bike Counts (Nothing Official)

Over the past couple days, volunteers helped the Department of Transportation collect data on bicycle commuter traffic around Baltimore.  Being the second annual wintertime bike counts, no one expects these numbers to be ‘awesome’ but a just an indicator of how local riders are kicking it in the colder months. We’ll get the ‘official’ numbers out just as soon as the data comes in.    I hung out at the corner of Aliceanna & Boston for three counting sessions and was able to identify some patterns:

• While the number of cyclists was relatively low, all cyclists exhibited a great amount of awareness – looking all ways, double checking for traffic, even when they had the right-of-way
• Cyclists that knew they were being counted waved.   There were a few folks pedalling that stopped and asked what I was doing.  After finding out, I was asked “So if I ride back and forth, will that get us a bike lane faster?”
• One cyclist that knew he was being counted at Guilford & Mt. Royal expressed his extreme dissatisfaction with the program.  Everybody’s got their thing…
• Always good seeing friends out riding and good making new ones
• The pedestrian activated signal at Aliceanna & Boston works, but you gotta hit that button!  There’s a pedestrian-only phase at this light which makes crossing easy for cyclists as well.
• 85% of all vehicular traffic was single-occupancy (One person per car)
• 30% of all motorists were on the phone whether talking (not hands-free) or texting
• The new window at the Sip & Bite makes the place look closed during the daytime.  Don’t worry, they’re open!

Anyone else have cool stories from their counts?